Pakistan signed the Kyoto Protocol for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in January 2005 to become part of the international community’s fight against global warming.

But despite facing direct threats from this phenomenon, the country looks towards others to help deal with the challenges. Pakistan’s efforts to curtail the climate change impact are restricted to two major steps only: recommendation of 746 actions to improve the climate change situation and creation of a separate federal Ministry of climate change.

Some of the proposed actions include steps for protection of glaciers, prevention of flash floods, conservation of water, improvement and protection of forestation, reformation of water, agriculture, industrial, transport and aviation sectors and protection of coastal areas against Sea rise.

The only effort that the ministry has made so far to implement these actions is a meeting conducted with all other concerned departments last month where the federal and provincial departments were briefed about these actions and were directed to implement those at the earliest.

The list of these proposed actions was prepared in 2014 under the Framework for Implementation of National Climate Change Policy, which was introduced in 2012. The main goal of the national policy was "to ensure that climate change is mainstreamed in the economically and socially vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate resilient development."

Before the national climate change policy in 2012, the only significant effort to fight climate change challenges since Pakistan signed the Kyoto protocol, was made in 2011 through a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) sponsored project "Reducing Risks and Vulnerabilities from Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in Northern Pakistan" (GLOF).

Its focus was to help the vulnerable communities to survive and fight glaciers melt in the northern areas, where metrological authorities estimate that 5,240 glaciers spread over 15,041 square-kilometres, are receding at an alarming rate of almost 40 to 60 meters a decade. Around 2,420 glacial lakes have already formed due to warming, 55 of them potentially hazardous to burst out anytime.

Dozens of glacial lakes have been burst out during last few years, causing flash floods and resulting in loss of lives and huge damages to agriculture, water and sanitation infrastructures.

The GLOF project, implemented in two valleys of Bagrot and Bindo Gol, targeted development of the human and technical capacity of public institutions and enable vulnerable local communities to better understand and respond to the risks.

The project, which will conclude in December this year, has helped in installation of two early warning systems in the valleys of Bagrot (in Gilgit) and Bindo Gol (Chitral) to record the metrological data, development of bridges, safe sites for local communities and flood diversion walls besides training of locals to deal with the climate change emergencies mainly the flash floods.

"We have conveyed the proposed actions to all government departments and ministries which are dealing with water, forestation, gas emissions and technological developments and emergencies issues. We will assess progress on these actions in our next meeting in next quarter," says Irfan Tariq, a senior official of the ministry.

"The progress on climate change issues was slower earlier because of the incomplete ministerial structure. Now we have devised a clear policy and will regularly organise this coordination meeting," he says.

"We are not responsible for climate change hazards. We are a victim of emissions of gases from the developed nations’ industries and deserve a financial compensation from them to take protective measures here," Tariq says.

"According to UNFCCC regulations, we can sell our rights under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to the developed nations and earn money to improve climate conditions in our country," says Tariq. But lack of interest has failed the country to benefit from this opportunity too, and Pakistan could streamline only 38 projects out of which seven are earning some funding through CDM. Other countries in the region such as India, China and Vietnam have successfully marketed thousands of projects.

"The rich countries at UN-led donors conference in November last year in Berlin promised $10.2 billion of the climate fund for Green Climate Fund (GCF) to help developing countries tackle climate change. But, it is a matter of grave concern for the developing countries, including Pakistan, that the rich countries have contributed so far around 42 per cent of the $10.2 billion," Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan, said in a recent statement.

Interestingly, Pakistan government’s own financial contribution for climate change initiatives is too little. The government allocated only Rs.58 million for the climate change projects during last financial year. While this year 2015-16, the government has allocated only Rs31.156 million.

Meanwhile, the world is gearing up for the UN’s latest conference on Climate Change in Paris from November 30 to December 11 later this year. This 21st yearly session of the Conference aims to achieve a new universal agreement on climate change making all nations responsible to take equal actions to reduce climate hazards.

But officials at MOCC say that Pakistan is mulling to press for continuation of the conditions agreed in Kyoto protocol, to keep chances for international fundings alive and avoid any responsibilities under the new agreement.

The experts, however, believe that no country would escape responsibility to do its own efforts to fight the climate challenge.

"New agreement will surely be signed in Paris conference and every nation will now have to contribute in the fight against Climate Change," says Doctor Qamruz Zaman Chaudhry, UN’s advisor for climate services in Asia and member of national climate change police implementation committee.

"We too can’t remain the only victim of the climate change and will have to put in our own efforts to fight it," he says.

"We will have to indicate our intended plan for a better climate. Pakistan can now tell the world that it is spending 6 per cent of total budget on climate change but previously our efforts were not satisfactory."

"Even today, we need to coordinate our efforts. The climate change ministry should play a lead role in it, instead of restricting itself to coordination only," he adds.